Why the study?
What are the current standards and practical guidance for pre-, peri-, and post-interventional anticoagulation in patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation?
What are the current standards and practical guidance for pre-, peri-, and post-interventional anticoagulation in patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation?
This review provides practical guidance on the evolving strategies for peri-interventional anticoagulation with DOACs and VKAs in patients undergoing atrial fibrillation ablation.
May inform peri-ablation anticoagulation decisions; leaves open need for prospective trials on optimal DOAC regimens.
In addition to treatment with drugs to control the rate and rhythm, the method of catheter ablation is a cornerstone in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Another crucial part in treating patients with atrial fibrillation is an adequate oral anticoagulation. Apart from the vitamin K antagonists (VKA) phenprocoumon and warfarin, the direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) apixaban, dabigatran and rivaroxaban have been approved for oral anticoagulation of patients with atrial fibrillation. As a result there are different potential treatment possibilities for pre-interventional, peri-interventional and post-interventional anticoagulation in the setting of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. Due to increasing clinical experience with DOAC and the increasing number of atrial fibrillation ablations worldwide, peri-interventional treatment strategies are continuously changing. Therefore, the current article discusses current standards and gives practical guidance.
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Antz et al. (2015) studied this question.
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